Federico Sanchez: No antidote to this syndrome

"Homosexuality can be cured," wrote Jorge Salcedo, a notably homophobic columnist, in my hometown newspaper back in Mexico.

As I typed a letter to the editor exposing the columnist's real motives -- nothing new really, just another attempt by a narrow mind to stigmatize, hurt, and denigrate gay people -- it occurred to me that while I was certainly not sick (quite on the contrary; I was having a great summer visiting my boyfriend in Germany), the columnist in question must have been having a miserable time suffering from what I have termed "Bigotry-Induced Anti-Gay Stress Syndrome."

This terrible disease, which I characterize as a profound sentiment of hatred towards gay people -- men, women and teenagers alike -- eventually submerges the victim in a constant state of anxiety, intolerance and acute belligerence. Unable to fight the devastating effects of the BIAGS Syndrome, the sufferers abandon their normal lives and devote themselves to fighting what they term "the gay agenda," which in reality is nothing more than the notion that gays and lesbians are human beings and deserve dignity and equality.

What are some warning signals that indicate when one of our friends, classmates or elected officials is dangerously flirting with the BIAGS Syndrome and getting ready to battle the "gay agenda?"

If -- following your invitation to drive down to Disney World for spring break -- your hardcore Southern Baptist friend turns you down with an impassioned speech explaining that his church has enacted a total boycott of everything Disney, odds are that your friend has developed the BIAGS Syndrome.

He might go on to explain that for a few years now, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and yes, even Winnie the Pooh have been among the ranks of the "professional homosexual activists." Curious about why the Southern Baptist Convention holds such ill feelings toward the Disney Company? Because Disney refuses to treat its gay staff as second-class employees and offers them the same health benefits offered to straight workers.

But according to some, not only Mickey and his friends are helping to advance the "gay agenda."

The mass-media religious entertainer and BIAGS-afflicted Jerry Falwell has denounced the evil nature of Tinky Winky, cast member of the Teletubbies children's TV series. Tinky Winky's crime? His covert homosexuality, as evidenced by the purple color of his skin, the triangle on top of his head -- a sign of gay liberation -- and his magic handbag.

Now, I won't argue with Falwell on this one, because frankly everyone knows that gay guys are purple and we never leave home without our magic handbags.

However , people suffering from BIAGS Syndrome don't only engage in weird struggles against purple TV stars. In most cases -- whether pressuring Disney to withdraw health benefits from its hard-working gay employees, or lobbying Congress to defeat employment non-discrimination protections for gays and lesbians -- the victims of BIAGS Syndrome wage an all-out war against the life, dignity and well-being of very real gay people.

Just ask the sadly notorious "Reverend" Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church and his followers, who take pleasure in picketing the funerals of gay people -- most notably, that of Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student who was beaten to death because he was gay. For that occasion, they carried banners reading "God Hates Fags" and "Fags Die, God Laughs."

In the face of such violent and inflammatory rhetoric by the religious right and its BIAGS Syndrome-affected followers, it's hardly surprising that as recently as 1999, the FBI recorded 1,900 violent anti-gay hate crimes, which are committed against a person solely because of his or her sexual orientation with the intention of sending a message of hate to the entire gay community.

What have most Republican lawmakers in Congress done in the face of these figures? Apparently acting under the influence of BIAGS, the G.O.P. leadership has done everything in its power to block the passage of the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act, a bill that would mandate harsher punishment for anti-gay violence.

We must make no mistake. Whether they are ridiculously air-headed or gravely disturbing, whether they are uttered by an obscure columnist in a Mexican newspaper or the Republican leadership in the U.S. Congress, all anti-gay actions committed under the spell of the BIAGS Syndrome contribute to create an asphyxiating, unfair, dangerous and quite often deadly environment for gays and lesbians.

Maybe Salcedo should take a look at himself, and write his next column on whether the BIAGS Syndrome can be cured. Let's hope he finds a successful treatment (some tolerance and respect wouldn't hurt, either).

Frederico Sanchez is a sophomore International Relations major from Guadalajara, Mexico.

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